


Resolution

by kmoaton



Series: Who Can I Run To? [3]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Angst, Internal Conflict, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Slow Build, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 14:23:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4266534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmoaton/pseuds/kmoaton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inuyasha has to prove a point and Sesshomaru pushes the issue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Resolution

Inuyasha was surprised how quickly he fell into an ordered routine over the following month. His days started with breakfast in his rooms. Morning meeting were held mostly with Terafumi, Kai, and Eitaro. Inuyasha shared his knowledge of humans while the advisors trained him on demonic diplomatic relations. To all of their surprise, many of the diplomatic relations was similar which made it easier for all involved to understand what needed to be done. Inuyasha still recalled some of the lessons he had been taught by his mother and with practice, the knowledge gradually returned. It eased some of Inuyasha's concerns. He wanted to show Sesshomaru his faith in him was well deserved.

Inuyasha usually didn't see his stoic brother until everyone gathered for the noon meal. It really was a working lunch. The advisors and occasionally the general gave reports. Sesshomaru would quiz Inuyasha on some of the lessons. Afternoons were spent training with Yusuke. The general was still wary of the hanyou but he reluctantly respected Inuyasha's skill and willingness to learn. As for Inuyasha, he was still cautious. He knew Yusuke was loyal to Sesshomaru but he held no illusions the same loyalty extended to him.

As long as Inuyasha was considered "useful", Yusuke would tolerate his presence. He was raised as most full-blooded demons were with the belief that hanyou were abominations and should be destroyed at birth. He didn't encourage his soldiers to be disrespectful Inuyasha but neither did he stop the disparaging words that would be flung at the hanyou during their sessions. The ranks noticed the not so subtle dislike from their general. A few agreed, but most of them respected Inuyasha. They had heard stories about the strong hanyou but their respect solidified when they saw he was willing to work as hard as they were and he didn't expect to be treated differently because he was the brother of their lord. Yusuke tried to hide his disdain for the growing respect the hanyou was earning and was doing well or so he thought...

ooOOoo

Being summoned to Sesshomaru's office was not unusual for Yusuke. As the lead general, he was often required to report on the training of the soldiers and any pertained information. As he dutifully made his report, Yusuke had no idea everything was going to take on a foreboding turn. 

"How is training with Inuyasha proceeding?" Sesshomaru asked. He was still looking over his papers but paying close attention to Yusuke. Word had gotten back to him about Yusuke’s treatment of Inuyasha during training. Sesshomaru tried several times to get Inuyasha to discuss training, but he was vague with his answers. Instead, he sent Jaken to spy for him and the report he had gotten back made him extremely angry. He wanted to rip the general apart for encouraging the defamation of a son of Inu Tashio. 

Yusuke struggled to keep the sneer out of his voice. "He is competent, my Lord. His tactics are rather brutish but what can you expect from his wild upbringing."

Looking up from his papers, Sesshomaru pinned his general with a frosty stare. 

"What are you implying?" 

Refusing to see the grave he was digging for himself, Yusuke took the question as permission to speak freely. 

"We all know that the prowess that Inuyasha displays is nothing more than an anomaly. We all know that you are just extending a courtesy.” 

Sesshomaru’s voice was cold and whip-sharp. “Are you saying that the son of Inu Tashio is lesser because he is hanyou?”

Yusuke’s eyes bulged as he realized his implications. “No…no, my lord. I don’t want the other soldiers to think that all hanyou are as Lord Inuyasha.”

Sesshomaru glared at the obvious lie. “It has been brought to my attention that you allow your troops to be less than honorable in their treatment of their fellow members.”

Yusuke could only gulp. He knew this was about the treatment of Inuyasha, but it was true that some of the troop members who were loyal to Yusuke were allowed to get away with many dishonorable behaviors. The treatment of Inuyasha was only the tip of the iceberg.

“I had not been made aware of such things, my lord.”

Sesshomaru stared unblinkingly at Yusuke for a moment. Suddenly, a solution to this problem clicked for Sesshomaru. 

“You are dismissed.” Returning to his work, Sesshomaru ignored his soon to be former general as he left his presence. 

ooOOoo

“Where are we going?” Inuyasha asked after walking with Sesshomaru for about 15 minutes. Their party, consisting of Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Yusuke, Chiryō-shi, Kai, Eitaro and Terafumi as well as select soldiers, had Inuyasha baffled. The cryptic message he received in the pre-dawn hours about this excursion along with the direction to bring his sword only made his confusion worse. 

Sesshomaru continued to lead the way. “You will soon see, little brother.” 

Just as the sun crept over the horizon, the group stepped into a large clearing. They were deep in the forest, well away from the manor. Everyone stopped when Sesshomaru raised his hand. His voice, while low, rang through the clearing.

“It has come to my attention that the leader of my army and some of those who follow him believes this son of Inu Tashio to be of faulty judgment.”

Yusuke quickly fell to his knees. “My lord, those things were not said. I would never default your judgment!”

Sesshomaru made no effort to hide his sneer. “Yet you question the ability of Inuyasha, youngest son of Inu Tashio and brother to this Sesshomaru.” Turning to stare at the soldiers who were also guilty, Sesshomaru address everyone. 

“My edict for any negative thoughts you have of thinking the younger son of Inu Tashio is lesser because of his human blood and upbringing was the loss of your head.”

Deep inside, it thrilled Sesshomaru to see the horror dawn in the eyes of Yusuke’s loyal soldiers. They hadn’t known about Sesshomaru’s declaration and they knew Sesshomaru was a man of his word. 

“Before you die, you will see the defeat of your ‘master’ at the hands of the hanyou he felt should have been reviled. You will see the blood of your ‘master’ on this ground spilt by the hands of the hanyou he felt was lesser than he.”

Inuyasha was in shock. He knew Yusuke didn’t like him because of his hanyou status and he never said anything to Sesshomaru because he knew his older brother would react like this. Sesshomaru was ruthless and Inuyasha was pissed he had been pulled into a power play. He had no choice but to go through with this but, afterwards, he was done. Sesshomaru had no right to use him as a pawn and he didn’t sign up to play demon politics. 

Sesshomaru could see the conflicting feelings dance across Inuyasha’s face. He knew there would be a blow out later. He would only admit to himself he was not looking forward to it. Chiryō-shi, while understanding why it had to be done, tried to tactfully warn Sesshomaru of Inuyasha’s reaction. Sesshomaru agreed but knew there was no other way. This was not only a test of Sesshomaru’s authority but it also was a test of Inuyasha’s prowess. Sesshomaru knew that if Inuyasha could face this challenge and defeat Yusuke, others would think twice about challenging his little brother. He had no doubts about Inuyasha’s success against Yusuke. The least he could do was provide a level playing field.

ooOOoo

In hindsight, the battle was quick and bloody. Yusuke was all style and finesse. It was easy to see why he was a general. He was skilled with a sword but he was unprepared for a fighter like Inuyasha. While over the years, Inuyasha learned some sword techniques, at his heart, he was a brawler. It made it hard to predict his moves and the frustration Yusuke suffered led to his downfall. Near the end of the battle, both men suffered from cuts and blood ran freely but Yusuke was obviously worse. As he made his final charge, Inuyasha had had enough. Collecting blood with his free hand, Inuyasha flung his ‘blades of blood’, catching Yusuke and several people watching by surprise. The five blades cut a swatch across Yusuke’s body, spraying blood on anyone near him. As the ex-general fell to the ground, Inuyasha allows his sword to transform to its normal state. Turning away, Inuyasha glared at Sesshomaru and, ignoring everyone else, began to walk back to the manor.

With a nod of his head, Sesshomaru had Eitaro to accompany Inuyasha while he remained behind to deal with his problem. Chiryō-shi was examining Yusuke, who was rapidly losing blood. 

“If we don’t get him back to the manor, my lord, he will die.” 

“Let him die.” Sesshomaru replied coldly and turned his attention to the soldiers. “Your lives are being spared today because you were unaware of my edict. You will be reassigned to another duty because those who are not truly loyal to me cannot be trusted to serve me on the battlefield.”

Barking out orders, he had the other soldiers sent back to the manor. Standing over Yusuke, he watched as he took his last breaths. With orders to return his body to his family, Sesshomaru went to deal with his own brewing family problem. 

ooOOoo

As they walked through the woods, Inuyasha didn’t want to hear the ramblings of Eitaro. 

“You do understand this was the only way, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha kept walking. “What I understood was this is bullshit.”

“If it hadn’t been Yusuke, it would have been someone else.” Eitaro replied.

“If I wasn’t here with all of you in the first place, I wouldn’t have more blood on my hands!”

“But, Inuyasha…” Eitaro began but was interrupted by the angry hanyou. 

“Don’t but me! I didn’t sign up to play demon politics with any of you! I’m done! Fuck all of this!”

Before Eitaro could reply, Inuyasha had bound off, leaving him behind. Shaking his head, Eitaro hurried up to catch up with the hanyou. 

ooOOoo

Inuyasha knew he had to be a sight as he entered the manor, covered in blood and dust but he didn’t care. Once he reached his rooms, he stripped and entered his private bath. After rinsing off with buckets of warm water dipped from the hot springs, he was glad to be able to sit and soak. Unfortunately, the quiet time allowed him too much time to think. He knew Eitaro was right, if it hadn’t been a challenge with Yusuke, it would have been someone else. He also knew why Sesshomaru didn’t tell him what was happening. Inuyasha knew he would have said no, regardless of the outcome. He also knew that if Yusuke had been given the chance, he would have sliced him up into hanyou bits. It didn’t make taking another life easier and Inuyasha felt ill with the thought. 

With a sigh, he got out of the bath and dried off. Even though it was near noon, he had no appetite. Lying across his bed, Inuyasha hoped Sesshomaru didn’t want to come and talk. Right now, there was nothing that could be said that would make a difference and he just wanted to be left alone. As the day progressed into evening, Inuyasha ignored the knocks at the door. He could recognize the auras of the servants as well as those of Sesshomaru’s council. For the first time in ages, he just laid there and contemplated life. Things had changed, his beloved humans were gone and now with Sesshomaru wanting him to be a part of his life, Inuyasha felt conflicted. So much of his life had been spent proving himself to humans and demons alike and he was tired. 

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Sesshomaru enter Inuyasha’s room without preamble. He had given the younger male the day to brood but now it was time to with the issues at hand. 

“Hiding in your rooms is not the Inu way.” 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes but didn’t move from his prone position. “Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t want to be bothered?”

Sesshomaru stood at the foot of the bed. “Avoiding the issue is not the same as wanting to be alone.”

Huffing, Inuyasha sat up. “Excuse me if I don’t just clean the blood off my claws and go on with my day!”

Sesshomaru walked across the room and stepped out on the balcony, the night breeze ruffling his hair. 

“If there had been another choice, I would have given it to you.”

Sighing, Inuyasha got up and joined Sesshomaru. He knew that was as close to an apology that he would get and Inuyasha could accept that. 

“This is not my life, Sesshomaru. I never wanted this to be my life.”

“Sometimes, we don’t get to choose our lives, Inuyasha. Things are the way they have to be for a reason.” Sesshomaru replied, now staring at the tormented visage of the younger Inu. He refused to dwell on the pang that was building in his chest as he saw the sorrow on Inuyasha’s face. 

“I have a choice. I don’t have to be here.”

The pang exploded into a tightness Sesshomaru couldn’t even begin to identify. Chiryō-shi had warned him if Inuyasha felt threatened, he would leave but Sesshomaru had hoped his time here would be enough to convince Inuyasha to stay. He instinctively knew that if Inuyasha left this time, he would be gone forever. 

They both remained silent for a long moment. Inuyasha finally broke the silence. 

“Look, I know why things had to happen the way they did with Yusuke but if you try that underhanded shit again, I’m leaving and I don’t care what happens behind that. You claim to trust me yet you didn’t trust me to have any judgment when it came to this. Either I’m all the way in or I’m all the way out.”

Sesshomaru contemplated, the tightness in his chest easing as Inuyasha declared he wasn’t leaving. He’d examine those pangs when he was alone.

“I can respect your wishes, Inuyasha.”

With a nod acknowledging Sesshomaru, Inuyasha returned his attention back to the outside. The quiet was disrupted by a loud rumbling growl. Inuyasha blushed hotly while a rare smirk crossed Sesshomaru’s face. 

“Would you care to join me for a late meal?”

Inuyasha scowled for a moment but then smiled. “I know you wouldn’t take no for an answer so lead the way.”

For this moment in time, everything was alright in Sesshomaru’s world. He would show Inuyasha he trusted him. It wouldn’t do for him to leave when he had finally gotten the young demon to stay.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, everyone is waiting for the action but it's coming, I promise. I don't want to just throw them together because even though they have known each other forever, they are getting to know each other on a whole new level. So just a warning for those looking for a bro fic, this is not it! This will be slash eventually!!


End file.
